Knee brace

ABSTRACT

A BRACE ADAPTED TO PROTECT AS WELL AS SUPPORT AN INJURED OR WEAKENED KNEE JOINT. THE BRACE INCLUDES A MOLDED SLEEVELIKE ARTICLE FORMED FROM A LIGHTWEIGHT ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL AND HAS AT LEAST TWO SETS OF LONGTIDUINAL AXIALLY EXTENDING RIBS ADAPTED TO OVERLIE AND SUPPORT, RESPECTIVELY, THE LATERAL AND MEDIAL PORTIONS OF THE KNEE JOINT, AND A THIRD SET OF LONGITUDINAL RIBS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID FIRST TWO SETS AND ADAPTED TO OVERLIE THE PATELLA OR KNEECAP PORTION OF SAID JOINT. THE FIRST TWO SETS OF AXIALLY EXTENDING RIBS WHILE PROVIDING SUFFICIENT RIGIDITY AND SUPPORT FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES, FURTHER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ELONGATE AXIALLY EXTENDING POCKETS HAVING FLEXIBLE STAYS REMOVABLY DISPOSED THEREIN TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WHERE NEEDED, THE DEGREE AND LOCATION OF THE SUPPORT BEING ADJUSTABLE THROUGH THE USE OF SAID REMOVABLE STAYS.

United States Patent Michael Evans 2239 E. 98th St., Cook County, 111. 60617 [21] Appl. No. 745,442 g [22] Filed July 17,1968

[45] Patented June 28, 1971 [72] inventor [54] KNEE BRACE Primary ExaminerRiChard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-Channing L. Pace An0rneySilverman and Cass ABSTRACT: A brace adapted to protect as well as support an injured or weakened knee joint. The brace includes a molded sleevelike article formed from a lightweight elastomeric material and has at least two sets of longitudinal axially extending ribs adapted to overlie and support, respectively, the lateral'and medial portions of the knee joint; and a third set of longitudinal ribs extending transversely of said first two sets and adapted to overlie the patella or kneecap portion of said joint. The first two sets of axially extending ribs while providing sufficient rigidity and support for certain purposes, further including a plurality of elongate axially extending pockets having flexible stays removably disposed therein to provide additional support where needed; the degree and location of the support being adjustable through the use of said removable stays.

KNEE BRACE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The invention is concerned generally with a knee brace of a type adapted to support an injured or weakened knee, and as well to protect a healthy knee from injury. More particularly, the invention relates to a lightweight knee brace formed from an elastomeric material which may be expanded to permit positioning about the knee joint and then permitted to contract firmly to engage the wearer's knee.

Due to its delicate and complex construction, the knee joint and its associated cartilages, ligaments and tendons, is susceptible to injury. One of the more common injuries incurred by those who participate in athletic activities such as skiing, skating, handball, football and the like, is what is termed an over extension of the knee joint. With this particular injury, a blow to the lateral side of the joint when the individuals foot is stationary results in a twisting of the body which in turn tends to cause the upper and lower joint members to move relative to each other in a manner contrary to their normal movement upon flexing of the knee. If this twisting or relative movement occurs to a sufficient degree, severe strain is placed upon the ligaments, tendons and cartilages of the joint, resulting in serious and painful injury. It should be noted that the above-mentioned twisting movement of the body may result from a fall or other unorthodox movements, and is not necessarily limited to a situation arising from a blow to the lateral side of the knee; however, in either case, there is a great pain and the knee must be immobilized to permit healing, and if this is not possible or desirable, adequate support must be provided for the knee during use.

While the vast majority of knee injuries result from the above-noted twisting or over extension of the knee, the patella or kneecap is also susceptible to injury. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a brace that in addition to supporting and protecting the lateral and medial sides of the knee, will also overlie the patella to absorb shock occasioned by a severe blow or fall. This feature is especially desirable where an individual is engaged in such sports as basketball, handball, squash and other activities which take place on a hardwood or concrete floor.

While the prior art consisted of braces that attempted to provide both adequate lateral support for the knee and protection for the kneecap, these were heavy and cumbersome. In most instances, the aforementioned braces employed uncomfortable leather straps and metal structure or framework which encircled the knee and of necessity often included a metal articulated joint; the entire arrangement being quite heavy and cumbersome. While these braces were effective with regard to the protection they afforded, their excessive weight or mass often hindered the performance of the wearer, and for this reason, often were not worn when they should have been, giving rise to the possibility of further and more serious injury to the knee joint.

On the other hand, another type of prior art brace which was less cumbersome, was constructed from a lightweight elastic fabric material. While these elastic fabric braces were comfortable and generally would not hinder the performance the wearer, they often failed to provide the requisite lateral support for the knee, and little, if any, protection for the kneecap.

There were some prior art attempts to incorporate the advantages of both the elastic sleeve and the articulated metal framework; however, the end result was a brace that was expensive, cumbersome, and afforded very little protection to thewearers kneecap.

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION The invention is characterized by the provision of a knee brace comprised of an elongate contractile cylindrical sleeve formed of an elastomeric material, said sleeve being adapted to be expanded and engaged over the knee of the wearer. The brace further includes a plurality of elongate axially extending ribs positioned to overlie the lateral and medial portions of the knee, thereby providing rigidity to the brace and support to the inner and outer knee portions; and an additional optional set of longitudinal ribs positioned to overlie and protect the kneecap. In addition, said brace utilizes an elongate stay positioned in a correspondingly shaped pocket formed in each of said axially extending ribs, said stays permitting movement of the knee joint in the plane of flexing while providing the requisite support to the medial and lateral joint portions.

Accordingly, in view of the above discussion of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention tov provide a knee brace which can be molded from a lightweight elastomeric material which affords the convenience and mobility achieved by the prior art elastic-type braces.

In addition, it is a further object of the invention to provide a brace which employs longitudinal axially extending ribs which achieve the requisite support for the knee; and also the provision of a brace employing the optionally insertable stays such that the support afforded may be adjusted as to degree and location by the selection'of the number and placement of said stays.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a knee brace which affords the mobility and comfort of the above-mentioned lightweight elastic sleeve-type braces, yet provides protection for the kneecap by the use of a set of ribs adapted to overlie said kneecap. 1 I

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the knee brace of the present invention positioned about the knee of the wearer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the knee brace of FIG. 1 in the unexpanded position, with a portion of the front and one side of the brace broken away to exposed view the construction of the ribs and the removable stay members.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the back or rear portion of the brace of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back of an alternate .brace construction wherein adjustable clamping means are employed to adapt the brace for knee joints of varying sizes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, FIG. 1 illustrates the knee brace of the present invention positioned about the knee joint of a wearer. The knee brace, which is designated generally 20, may be attached to and form a portion of a stockinglike garment 22 or it may be of an independent construction such as illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4.

Irrespective of the particular arrangement employed, the knee brace 20 is formed preferably from a resilient elastomer.- ic material which can be expanded to facilitate the positioning and then allowed to contract firmly to engage the wearer's knee joint and thereby maintaining the brace in position. While various elastomerics are available and the particular composition employed forms no essential aspect of the present invention, a silastic RTV rubber composition has proven well-suited for the present construction. This particular elastomer is particularly useful where the brace is of molded construction since it is easily molded and the hardness, tensile strength, tear strength, and elongation properties are such as to make this particular composition well-suited for the present invention.

Looking now to the specific construction of the knee brace 20, brace 20 is comprised of an elongated cylindrical sleeve 2,4 which is provided with at least two sets of ribs 26 formed on .the circumference of sleeve 24 and extending in an axial direction. The respective sets of ribs 26 are diametrically opposed and positioned to overlie the medial and lateral portions of the knee joint when the brace is in place.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided further a third set of longitudinal ribs 28 which is disposed transversely of the aforementioned ribs 26. Ribs 28 are on the forward or front portion of the brace and positioned such that they will overlie and protect the wears patella or kneecap, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The rear portion of brace 20 as shown in FIG. 3, includes'a plurality of longitudinal corrugations 30 which may be viewed as defining a fourth. set .of ribs, the term corrugations being preferred, since when compared with ribs 26 and 28, elements 30 are of substantially less height. While the relatively shallow corrugations may be dispensed with, without departing from the inventive concept involved, they provide for increased rigidity in the radial plane, while accommodating movement of the knee joint in the plane of flexing, viz., that plane defined by the upper and lower leg portions when the knee is in the bent or flexed position.

Preferably, the ribs 26 and 28, as illustrated in FIG. 2,

respectively have wedgelike cross-sectional configurations as compared to the rounded or hemispherical shaped cross-sectional configurations of the respective corrugations 30. This wedgelike configuration of the respective ribs 26 provides for increased stiffness or resistance to deformation in a radial plane, viz., a plane containing the elongate apex 27 of each rib 26 and the axis of the sleeve 24. Accordingly, the wedgelike ribs 26 tend to rigidify the brace; however, and more important, their resistance to deformation increases the support to the knee joint. As can be seen in FIG. 1, when the brace is positioned about the wearer's knee, the ribs 26 will bow inwardly thus applying pressure to the underlying ligament area; this pressure being directly related to stiffness or resistance to deformation of said ribs. While deformation of the ribs 26 is above-noted and defined radial planes is resisted, the particular construction of said ribs permits bending in planes transverse thereto, such as must be accommodated when the knee joint is flexed. Accordingly, while ribs 26 provide the requisite support for the medial and lateral portions of the knee joint, their resistance or hinderance to flexing of the knee joint and the resulting discomfort to the wearer occasioned by such resistance, is minimal. I The ribs 28 serve two important functions. Similar to ribs 26 and 30, their placement and construction is such as to add rigidity to the brace per se, without hindering movement of the joint. In addition, ribs 28 provide a cushion means or padding which protects the kneecap. As previously mentioned, individuals engaged in athletic activities carried out on hard surfaces such as basketball and handball courts, are susceptible to injuries resulting from a severe blow to the kneecap during a fallor collision. Accordingly, the ribs 28 provide a buffer or pad such that the shock occasioned during a fall may be substantially absorbed, or that which is not absorbed, distributed over a much greater area.

While the ribs 26 alone will be satisfactory for many purposes, it must be realized that the requirements of a knee brace will vary from individual to individual and in some instances greater support than can be achieved by the ribs alone must be provided. Further, the rigidity of the individual ribs 26 depends upon the the material from which the brace 20 is molded. Accordingly, there are limits. defined by the elastic requirements of the brace 20 which dictates the maximum hardness or stiffness that can be obtained from the elastomeric material used.

To accommodate situations where increased support is desired, each of the ribs 26 is provided with an elongate pocket 32. In each pocket 32 there is disposed removably a flexible stay 34 which, when so inserted, will increase the stiffness of the associated rib 26, and thereby augment and increase the supporting function. The stays 34 may be metal or plastic and, as illustrated, are ofa flat, striplike configuration. Preferably, the elongate pockets 32 are disposedradially such that the elongate edges 36 of stays 34 will be oriented so as to lie in a radial plane. Accordingly, due to the relatively flat construction of the stays 34, when disposed in this manner, they will resist bending in a'radial plane, thus providing increased supporting pressure to the ligament areas, but will readily deform upon flexing of the knee joint.

Additional advantages are afforded by the use of the removable stays 34, in that they provide for adjustment with regard to the amount of support, as well as the area to be supported. In most cases, injury to the knee joint will be localized, that is, either. the medial or lateral portion of the joint will be weakened and in need of support. Accordingly, in such situations, it is desirable to provide the maximum support to the injured area while providing a minimum of support to the healthy areas, leastwise the muscles and ligaments of the latter will become weakened due to dependency upon the support afforded by the brace. It is believed apparent that by the selective use and placement of the stays 34 one can easily adjust the area or areas to be supported. In addition, by the use of thicker and more rigid stays 34, as well as by the selection of the number of stays to be employed, the amount of support afforded by the individual ribs may be adjusted to accommodate the particular needs of the individual.

Turning then to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a modified form of the knee brace as previously described. As will be recalled, the knee brace of FIGS. 1 through 3 was formed of an elastomeric material which was capable of being stretched, slipped over the wearer's foot and then positioned about the knee joint; and further, that the elastic requirements of this modification dictated the maximum stiffness of the ribs 26. However, in FIG. 4, the rear portion of the brace is sectioned or slit in a cordal plane to define overlapping surface areas 40 and 42. To hold the brace in engagement about the wearer's knee an adjustable fastening arrangement is provided, the illustrated embodiment employing a Velcro-type fastener. With the modification of FIG. 4, the brace may be positioned about the wearers knee without the necessity of stretching same as discussed previously. Accordingly, a much harder composition may be employed for the brace, resulting in increased stiffness for the ribs 26.

The Velcro-type fastener mentioned in the preceding paragraph, is well known in the art. This arrangement employs a plurality of hooklike members on one surface and a matting or looplike configuration on the other, such that when the surfaces are forced into contact, the hooklike elements will engage said matting to affix the relative position of the respective surfaces.

Except for the adjustable fastening arrangement, the brace of FIG. 4 is of the same construction as that previously described and will function in the same manner, thus like'elements having been given the same reference characters as used previously in regard to FIGS. 1 through 3.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the illustrated embodiment may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments are to be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

lclaim:

1. An orthopedic appliance for support of a knee joint comprising an elongate cylindrical sleeve formed of a contractile material and adapted to be expanded and engaged over the knee of the wearer, said sleeve having at least first and second sets of longitudinal radial ribs polygonal in cross section about the circumference of the sleeve, said ribs being oriented relative to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve to extend radially outward of the sleeve on only diametrically opposite sides of the sleeve, the first set of ribs being adapted to be positioned to overlie and support the lateral portion of the wearers knee and the second set of ribs being adapted to be positioned to overlie and support the medial portion of the wearer's knee when the brace is in place, said first and second ribs having reinforcing means arranged therein along the length thereof and having a longitudinal edge oriented in a plane radial to the axis of the sleeve whereby said first and second ribs have a single degree of freedom for flexing movement in a direction substantially normal to the radial planes being disposed and arranged thereby to afford freedom of flexing movement only in the direction of the normal flexure of the knee and to resist lateral flexure transverse to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve.

2. A knee brace as defined in claim 1 in which each of said longitudinal radial ribs is wedge-shaped in cross section with the apex disposed oriented in a radial plane normal to the longitudinal axisof the sleeve.

3. A knee brace as defined in claim 1 wherein said brace is split axially proximate to the rear portion of said sleeve thereby defining overlapping surface areas, and adjustable fastening means associated with saidsurface areas adapting the brace for positioning about the knee joint of the wearer, thereby adapting the brace forjoints of varying sizes.

4. A knee brace as defined in claim 3 wherein said adjustable fastening means includes a plurality of hooklike elements extending from one of said surface areas, and a plurality of loop elements extending from the other of said surface areas, whereby upon engagement thereof said hooklike and loop elements will lock to fix the relative position of said surface areas.

5. The orthopedic appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein said reinforcing means comprise flat, striplike elongate stays arranged with their elongate edges in said radial planes.

6. The orthopedic appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein cushion means is provided between said first and second sets of longitudinal ribs and oriented to overlie and protect the wearer's kneecap from injury and said cushion means comprises a third set of longitudinal transversely extending ribs disposed between and substantially perpendicular relative to said first and second sets of longitudinal ribs on one side only of the sleeve.

7. An orthopedic appliance for support ofa knee joint comprising an elongate cylindrical sleeve formed of a contractile elastomeric material and adapted to be expanded and engaged over the knee of the wearer, said sleeve having at least first and second sets of longitudinal ribs arranged about the circumference of the sleeve on only diametrically opposite sides of the sleeve, said ribs each having an elongate edge extending along the longitudinal axis of the sleeve in planes arranged radially outward of the axis of said sleeve, said first set of longitudinal ribs adapted to be positioned to overlie and support the lateral portion of the wearer's knee, and said second set of longitudinal ribs adapted to be positioned to overlie and support the medial portion of the wearer's knee when said brace is in place, said ribs having a single degree of freedom for flexing movement in the natural direction of flexing of the wearer's knee providing rigidity to the brace and adapted to afford support to the underlying areas of the knee joint due to their resistance to bending in a plane transverse to the plane of flexing of said knee joint, yet being easily deformed when said knee is flexed, an elongate axially extending pocket disposed within each of said axially extending ribs, and stays positioned in at least some of said pockets to rigidify the sleeve and give added support to the knee joint, said stays comprising flexible, relatively thin strips and said pockets are disposed such that the stays are oriented with their elongate edge in a plane substantially radially disposed with respect to the axis of said sleeve.

8. A knee brace as defined in claim 7 further including a third set of longitudinal transversely extending ribs disposed between and substantially perpendicular to said first and second sets across the circumference of the sleeve, and positioned to overlie and protect the wearers kneecap from injury.

9. A knee brace as defined in claim 7 in which the cylindrical sleeve is of molded construction. 

